Americas – Page 106 – Prologue Journal

Investor Charged With Kidnapping ‘Crypto King’

New York Times Aiden Pleterski is accused of spending investors’ money on luxury cars and vacations before filing for bankruptcy, according to court records. Then he was kidnapped by one of his investors, police say. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/20/world/canada/crypto-king-aiden-pleterski-kidnapping-arrest.html

Archaeologists Find Maya City in an ‘Empty Zone’ of the Yucatán Map

New York Times In a biological preserve in Mexico’s Campeche State, a team of archaeologists has documented pyramids, palaces, a ball court and other remains of an ancient city they call Ocomtún. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/20/world/americas/maya-city-yucatan-archaeology-ocomtun.html

Read Your Way Through Salvador

New York Times The writer Itamar Vieira Junior says that to “feel the intensity of life on the streets of Salvador” in Bahia, Brazil, a reader must start with Jorge Amado. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/books/salvador-bahia-brazil-books.html

Carlos Alberto Montaner, Prominent Critic of Castro’s Cuba, Dies at 80

New York Times After fleeing the island in 1961, he became one of the leading voices of opposition against the country’s Communist dictatorship. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/15/world/americas/carlos-alberto-montaner-dead.html

Frank Gehry Returns to the Streets of His Canadian Childhood

New York Times The renowned architect was back in Toronto for the start of construction on his second project in the city where he was born and raised. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/15/world/canada/frank-gehry.html

Canadian Politicians Who Criticize China Become Its Targets

New York Times As China increases its reach in diaspora communities, Chinese Canadian politicians in Vancouver are the focus of Chinese state interference in Canadian politics. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/15/world/americas/canada-china-election-interference.html

When Did Humans First Occupy the Americas? Ask the Sloth Bones.

New York Times The discovery of ancient, handcrafted ornaments revives a longstanding debate about the arrival of the earliest Americans. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/14/science/archaeology-sloths-human-migration.html

Guatemala’s Top Party Is Suspended, Putting Election Into Turmoil

New York Times The move threatens the presidential bid of Bernardo Arévalo, an anticorruption candidate who made a surprisingly strong showing in the initial voting, propelling him into a runoff. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/13/world/americas/guatemala-election-party-suspended.html

Racism and Sexism Underlie Higher Maternal Death Rates for Black Women, U.N. Says

New York Times Black women in Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States are more likely than their white counterparts to report denial of medication or physical and verbal abuse in health care settings. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/12/health/maternal-deaths-americas-un.html

Saber-Tooth Cats and Dire Wolves Carried a Terrible Disease in Their Bones

New York Times Researchers say that evidence of osteochondrosis dissecans in the ice age predators offers insights to how they went extinct. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/12/science/saber-tooth-cats-dire-wolves-joints.html